FAQ

You can download the Android and iOS version in Google Play and Apple App store (soon):

During installation, you must grant full permissions to use the location (always, also in background mode) in order to make the app work properly.

Please note that rooted/jailbroken devices and some special OS versions are not supported.

The app costs about 6 CHF, depending on which country you buy the app from. Each pilot will have to buy and install the app on his phone/tablet.

• • 1-3 flights: 50 CHF
  • 4-8 flights: 100 CHF
  • 9-15 flights: 250 CHF
  • 16-20 flights: 400 CHF
  • 21+ flights: 500 CHF

You can pay for the organiser fee directly on the FAI website using Paypal: https://payments.fai.org/p/balloon-live-organizer-payment

Every pilot needs to pay around 10 CHF to register to a competition. The first time the competitor selects the competition in the Balloon Live app (under available competitions in his user profile), he will automatically be redirected to the in-app purchase system of Android/Google or Apple. If the payment succeeds, the competition event is shown as "paid" and can be selected in any other device using the same pilot login.

Note: These fees are considered a project income and will go directly to the FAI Ballooning commission to develop, run and maintain the app and the backend systems.

To use it in your event/competition, please contact the Balloonlive-team using the event setup request form.

The team will get back to you with the details on how to pay the fee for your event.

Once payment has been received, the team will create an event for you and give your managing access to it on watchmefly.net.

When using the internal location sensor (GPS) of the phone/tablet used, the accuracy of the position may vary a lot depending on the device model and technology used.

Balloon Live Sensor

For FAI CAT1 events and others, a special external sensor box, the Balloon Live sensor, with standardised sensors will be used. The sensor can be used in national events too.

The best way to make sure no problem occurs is to keep the app in the foreground and the screen switched on all the time.

On most phones you may  use a different app or sleep the phone for a few minutes.

As this may differ depending on the phone manufacturer or model, especially for Android, we strongly recommend to test that the app is not put to deep sleep , hibernate mode or completely killed and the track still properly recorded after 5 or 10 minutes of phone sleep or using another app.

On iOS a notification will pop up every few seconds (if notification permissions given). This is used to keep the app alive in the background for a few minutes.

Normally you can use multiple phones and connect your log in with the same watchmefly user credentials.

Depending on the rules used in the competition, you will have to pay attention one which device (main or backup) you switch on first.

The tracks will remain on the phone until you delete the app.

You can delete an individual track file on the phone only after 14 days.

Go to the Tracks screen from the main menu. Tap on the track to show the following 2 options:

• Share the track
• Delete the track (after 14 days only)

Yes. It has bluetooth connectivity (BLE) to the Balloon Live app (phone or tablet) and a separate bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth SPP profile with NMEA) to up to 2 devices (laptop) to be used for mapping applications. All these connections can be used at the same time.

No. Unlike with the previous FAI Balloon loggers, FAI Ballooning Commission will not create a pool of devices that can be rented by event organisers. In upcoming events using Balloon Live, the pilot will be required to bring his own Balloon Live Sensor to make sure the quality of the position recorded for scoring is the same for all pilots.

The event organisers usually decide what logger system they want to use. The past years have shown that many event organisers are interested in using the Balloon Live app with the Balloon Live sensor in the future as this has replaced the FAI Logger used until 2021. Among these are organisers of regional and national championships as well as larger events.

Initial order were made through special purchase events held in 2020 in 2021. Over 750 devices were ordered by pilots from around the world.

If you missed the sale event or you wish to purchase a device sooner, please contact your Flytec Balloon dealer for an individual purchase.

The recorded track is stored in up to 3 locations:

• The Balloon Live app stores a recorded track and it can be shared as IGC file through the normal sharing possibilities on the device.
• The Balloon Live Sensor additionally stores the track in IGC format on its SD card.
• If you use Watchmefly.net for the competition, the track is also transferred to watchmefly.net once the phone/tablet is online.